In This Lab...
Why Cortisol Matters & It’s Connection with Distress and Obesity
What is Cortisol & What is its Role?
Cortisol, Blood Sugar & Insulin
Cortisol, Learning & Cognitive Performance
Elevated Cortisol’s Catabolic Effects on the Brain & Cognitive Function
Cortisol & Digestion
What Types of Stress Elevate Cortisol?
Cortisol’s Role in Adapting to Acute Threats
Stress Without Distress
Cortisol & General Resistance Resources (GRRs)
Cortisol, Human Nature & Individual Perceptions of Distress
Cortisol Production & Regulation
Cortisol & Anabolic Hormone Changes in Aging, Morbidity & Mortality
Deeper Dive on Cortisol & Anabolic Hormones
Is Cortisol the Key Hormone in How We Age?
Cortisol Assessment & Interpretations
Variability & Cellular Communication
Supporting Healthy Cortisol Patterns & Stress Responses
Cortisol & Alcohol, Nicotine, Marijuana, Meds
Key Habits
The Cortisol Connection Checklist
Related Labs
Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions
AT A GLANCE
Cortisol regulation plays a pivotal role in our health and aging process. As the primary stress hormone, cortisol is essential for managing the body's response to various stressors, ensuring energy mobilization, and regulating immune responses.
Proper cortisol balance is crucial for maintaining a healthy immune system, blood sugar and fat metabolism, body fat levels, and blood pressure. Disordered cortisol levels, especially when chronic, as occurs when distress accumulates and lingers, has profoundly negative effects on health and accelerates the aging process. This is true whether the distress is due to eating habits, lack of sleep and inadequate recovery, unresolved mental-emotional traumas, dysfunctional relationships, or exposure to chemical toxins.
Elevated cortisol levels and altered daily cortisol rhythms lead to excessive inflammation, impaired immune function, fat and blood sugar dysregulation, increased visceral fat, and increased susceptibility to chronic diseases, including cognitive and neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, and obesity. Disrupted cortisol rhythms are also associated with sleep disturbances and mood disorders.
Understanding how to maintain healthy cortisol regulation through better management of your state and lifestyle habits is essential to your well-being. This Lab equips you to do so.
Proper cortisol balance is crucial for maintaining a healthy immune system, blood sugar and fat metabolism, body fat levels, and blood pressure. Disordered cortisol levels, especially when chronic, as occurs when distress accumulates and lingers, has profoundly negative effects on health and accelerates the aging process. This is true whether the distress is due to eating habits, lack of sleep and inadequate recovery, unresolved mental-emotional traumas, dysfunctional relationships, or exposure to chemical toxins.
Elevated cortisol levels and altered daily cortisol rhythms lead to excessive inflammation, impaired immune function, fat and blood sugar dysregulation, increased visceral fat, and increased susceptibility to chronic diseases, including cognitive and neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, and obesity. Disrupted cortisol rhythms are also associated with sleep disturbances and mood disorders.
Understanding how to maintain healthy cortisol regulation through better management of your state and lifestyle habits is essential to your well-being. This Lab equips you to do so.
HEALTH SCENE INVESTIGATION
- How well do you understand how specific habits impact cortisol regulation?
- Are your present habits supporting healthy cortisol levels and rhythms? Might there be room for improvement?
HYPOTHESIS
Cortisol is a principal hormone in the maintenance of healthy function and well-being. It’s also a key player in the prevention of premature aging and chronic disease. Yet it’s poorly understood by the majority of the public and even many health professionals. Learning how to mitigate and prevent the types of distress which disrupt your cortisol rhythms will markedly impact your energy metabolism, vitality, body composition and risk to disease. It will also deepen your sense of well-being.